


Somewhere Near The Ishtar Sink

by Oblivion_Wanderer



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, First Meetings, Gen, first resurection, nothing like a first meeting on venus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 09:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13610691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oblivion_Wanderer/pseuds/Oblivion_Wanderer
Summary: A first meeting between the Human Titan Lucy and her Ghost.





	Somewhere Near The Ishtar Sink

**Author's Note:**

> Companion fic to Somewhere in Russia.
> 
> So, my Hunter, Nelan, has two friends that she's in a fireteam with; Lucy and Murph-9. This is the first of the two and the day of their respective resurrection/meeting their Ghosts. Wanted to write this in conjuction with Nelan's resurrection. Also this (and Murph's story) take place shortly before the Taken war.

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes, squinting at first against the light, was some kind of floating object. It looked kind of in the shape of a diamond, but this object also had a single glowing eye.

It was watching her.

“Good; you’re awake.”

And it was talking.

“Wh- What?” She was surprised at how weak her voice was; scratchy and strained. She tried to move forward, but her whole body seemed to ache. She couldn’t help but fall back, her back hitting some kind of stone surface. Had she been leaning against that before?

“Ah, right. Your body is still waking up.” The floating thing said. “Take it easy until you’re ready.”

She looked up at the object, wondering what it was as she tried to get her voice to work. This little thing, whatever it was, wasn’t like anything she had seen before. It’s voice sounded a bit robotic, so maybe it was an AI of sorts. It was a tiny AI if that was the case.

She took a breath and cleared her throat, ready to speak. “What are you?”

“Me?” It floated down closer to her. “Well, I’m a Ghost. I’m your Ghost now, actually.”

“A… Ghost?”

“Yes. I was created by the Traveler to seek out the one who would be my Guardian.”

“Traveler? Guardian? I’m not really understanding what you’re talking about.”

“I’m sorry; I know you must be confused. It will all be explained to you, I promise, it’s just that I’m quite excited to finally met you. I have been looking so very long for you, Guardian.”

This thing- the Ghost- had been looking for her. She felt a little touched but for what purpose had it seeked her out? “You called me “Guardian”, and you said you were created to look for your Guardian. Am- does this mean I’m one of these people?”

“You are; you were chosen by the Traveler, and well, me by extension. Now that I have found you and brought you back from the dead-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” She interrupted, caught off guard by the Ghost saying she’d been brought back from the dead. “I was dead?!”

“Um, yes...” The Ghost simply provided.

“Why was I dead? I was-” She tried to remember what she had been doing before she woke here before the Ghost, but nothing came to mind. It was all a blank; there was nothing. “I… I don’t remember.”

“A lot of Guardians don’t remember their past lives; perfectly normal. To be fair, you have been dead for a very, very long time. I simply… found you in that state.”

It was certainly a lot to take in; the fact she had been dead and didn’t remember anything, all these strange things the Ghost was saying that she knew nothing about, and the fact she was apparently a “Guardian” now.

It was a bit dizzying.

“Are you okay?” The Ghost asked, voice softer. They sounded concerned.

She met the Ghost’s singular eye. “Yeah… It’s… It’s quite a bit to grapple with.”

“That’s quite common as well for newly risen Guardians. Like I said, any questions you have will be answered. Right now though, we’ll need to find some way to get off this planet.”

“Planet? Where are we exactly.”

“Venus; near the Ishtar Sink.”

She blinked at the Ghost. “I have no idea what the Ishtar Sink is.” She finally leaned forward and rolled her shoulders. At that moment, something made a clinking noise and she felt something gently bump against her chest. “Huh?”

She looked down, seeing two small pieces of metal attached to a silver chain she could only assume was hanging around her neck. How long had that been there?

The Ghost seemed to notice. “Oh, that. It was on your body when I found you.”

She picked up the metal, rusting in some places. There was a symbol on one piece and upon inspection, she was able to make out a name on the other.

“ ‘Lucy Carter’.” She read, then looking up at the Ghost. “Is… Is that my name?”

“It appears so.” The Ghost commented. “A lot of Guardians don’t remember their previous names and seek a new one for themselves. There have been instances like this though where Guardians have, through happenstance mostly, recovered their old name. Would you like to have that name?”

She gripped the metal in her hands and then let it go; letting it fall back to resting against her chest. “Yeah. I’ll take it.”

“Then let me say it’s nice to meet you, Lucy.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

Lucy slowly rose to her feet, noticing how the Ghost was watching her as it hovered near. Such a small thing- and it had come here for her? It was vigilant, she’d give it that.

Taking a look around, Lucy saw that she was in the ruins of some sort of structure; greenery surrounding her and a strange sky above. The sky was cloudy with a sickly yellow hue and flashes of lightening echoing through those clouds. From time to time what looked to be a meteor shone as it fell across the sky.

So this was Venus…

“Alright, Ghost.” She didn’t know if she’d get used to that name. Maybe she could think of a better one. “Have any idea where we go?”

“Our best bet is to go into the Ishtar Sink region. It’s nearby, but we’ll have to be very careful.” The Ghost replied.

“Why?”

“The region is inhabited by Vex.”

“What’s a Vex?” She asked, confused.

“The Vex are robots, in simple terms. However, they’re quite complicated as they, to put it plainly, are sort of time travelers.”

“Time traveling robots? Are you serious?”

“Absolutely, though not much about them is actually known. The Vex are quite a complex species, with more mystery surrounding them than we can count. They took the Ishtar Sink after the Collapse, although recently their hold has loosened. A Guardian found the Black Garden and dealt blow to their forces, and afterward a group of Guardians went down into the Vault of Glass and defeated the great evil that lived in those depths. They’ve still got a hold on Mercury and there have been sightings on Mars, but those events were a major defeat to the Vex; it shows we can fight them.”

Time traveling robots- just great. “Aren’t you a robot?”

“I would prefer you not call me that.” The Ghost replied, sounding slightly hurt. “I’m nothing like those evil machines. The proper term for me is an AI; artificial intelligence. Although I like to think of us Ghosts as much more than AIs.”

Artificial intelligence; the term rang a bell in Lucy’s mind, but she couldn’t place it. She couldn’t remember, probably on account of being dead for what she could only assume was a long time. Maybe in her old life she had heard the term. AI seemed to fit this Ghost better anyway.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.” Lucy offered in apology.

“You’re forgiven. Just… please do not compare me to those things.”

“I understand, and I’ll keep it in mind.”

The Ghost seemed to give a sigh. “Thank you, Guardian. Let’s get going; I’ve set the location of the Ishtar Sink. You can ask me anything you want along the way.”

When they left the ruins and the started to head off in a direction provided by the Ghost, Lucy decided to take the Ghost up on its offer. There were plenty of questions she had on her mind

“So, what is the Ishtar Sink and why do you think it’s our best chance at getting off of Venus?” She asked.

“Not the question I thought you were going to go with.” The Ghost replied. “The Ishtar Sink region was a colony built on Venus during the Golden Age, made possible by the Traveler. Then the Collapse happened, and, well… Everyone thought it was lost. Because of those recent events I mentioned, patrols have been established in the region. There’s a good chance we may run into other Guardians when we get there.”

“I know you called me a Guardian, but what exactly are Guardians?”

“Guardians are warriors chosen by the Traveler to fight back against the Darkness. It is our purpose as Ghosts to seek out our Guardians. We don’t exactly know who our Guardian will be, but we know who they are, on the inside at least, if that makes any sense. We do, however, recognize when we have found our Guardian- instinct if I were to give it a word. There are also three classes of Guardians which exist; Titan, Hunter, and Warlock.”

“Any idea what I’m supposed to be?”

The Ghost turned to her. “Hm… I see a Titan in you. Interesting.”

“And this… Traveler?”

“That’s difficult to explain. I don’t know much about the Traveler, even though I was created from it. All I know is that is is an object which gave life to the Ghosts in the Collapse, and which grants Guardians their powers. I also know that it made me to find you and bring you back. The Traveler now resides in the Last City, located on Earth. I know nothing else about it but that.”

“You’ve said ‘Collapse’ a few times… What was that?”

The Ghost stopped, Lucy not noticing until she walked a couple steps past it. She turned to her Ghost, finding that it was looking away from her.

“Ghost?” She called gently, taking step towards it.

“I don’t know much of it. I only really know it as the moment I was born; at the same moment the Traveler died. It was a catastrophe and...” The Ghost sighed. “It’s hard to talk about.”

Lucy felt a pang of sympathy for her Ghost. Whatever the Collapse had been, it was a moment of chaos for her Ghost, and she could understand why it didn’t want to talk about that event. From what she was understanding, it was the Ghost’s first memory.

“You don’t have to talk about it. It’s upsetting you, isn’t it?”

The Ghost finally looked up at her and came back to her side. “I’m fine; it’s okay. You had every right to ask. I believe there’s data in the archives on the Collapse if you still wish to know later.”

Lucy smiled at the Ghost, though she made a note not to bring it up to it again, not if it upset her new apparent companion.

They continued on, at one point coming across an abandoned auto-rifle. The Ghost suggested she take it, in case they ran into trouble. Lucy agreed; if they were going into an area where these Vex were also at, it would be best to be armed. Eventually they arrived within the perimeter of the Ishtar Sink, buildings coming into view and towering in the distance.

“Readings show the Ishtar Academy is ahead; we can cut through the Shattered Coast to get there.” The Ghost informed her.

“Think we’ll find someone there?” Lucy asked, adjusting her hold on the auto-rifle.

“The chances are good.”

They continued on through the Shattered Coast, and the further they continued, the more it looked like they were traveling further and further into a city. The difference was that this place was completely in ruins and in a state of complete disarray. The Ghost had said the Ishtar Sink region had once been a colony, built during the Golden Age. Time had certainly not been kind to this place; it was nothing more than a derelict of what Lucy could only imagine was once a thriving colony.

Soon enough they arrived at the Ishtar Academy. The Ghost explaining that when this colony was alive, the Academy was the center of research. Rumors had it that the people who had lived here had once studied ruins older than humanity itself.

They made their way into one of the buildings, what looked to be a former library. There was a large statue in the middle of the room they had wandered into.

“Is this part of the Academy?” Lucy asked, looking up at the statue.

“It would appear so.” The Ghost replied.

Lucy wandered around the room, going up to a balcony above her to examine what she thought were shelves of books. She wasn’t entirely wrong, but everything was in a state of decay, like the rest of this place.

‘ _What happened here?’_ Lucy wondered. ‘ _What happened in this ‘Collapse’ to make these people abandon the colony? How much of what they studied here has been lost to time?’_

Suddenly her Ghost made an alarmed noise and flew in front of her face. “I’m detecting movement! It’s the Vex!”

“Dammit.” Lucy growled, readying the auto-rifle. She leaned over the railing of the balcony, trying to see where they were coming from. “Where are they coming from, Ghost?” She turned but found no sight of it. “Ghost?”

“I’m still with you, just hidden so they can’t see me; it keeps me safe. It’s hard to pinpoint where the Vex are coming from but they’re here.”

Lucy looked back over the railing to see something materialize near the statue. She then remembered these Vex could teleport.

“Lovely.” She sarcastically grumbled.

A group of three robot looking things fully materialized at the statue- Vex. They were strange looking things; the metal of their bodies worn with time yet moving with ease. The head of each of these robots reminded Lucy of a fan, and she noticed a white and slightly glowing spot on the chests of these things. However, the most noticeable thing about them was the glowing red spot on each head, what she could only assume was its eye.

Lucy aimed the auto-rifle at one of the Vex. She was ready to pull the trigger when one of the Vex robots turned its head toward her.

“It sees us!” The unseen Ghost exclaimed.

On impulse Lucy pulled the trigger and fired a few shots into the Vex. It went down easy, but it caused the other two Vex to take notice of her as well.

“Take cover!” Ghost advised, a second before the remaining Vex open fired on her.

Lucy ducked behind a nearby pillar as red beams of light shot past her. She leaned out around the other side of the pillar and took aim at the Vex, firing on them in return.

“Hobgoblin!” Ghost warned when they went down. “To your left on the other balcony.”

“What-”

She turned just in time to see another Vex robot aim a weapon at her from across the way. It looked a little bit different that the first three. She dodged as it fired, then getting up and making a dash for the other side of the balcony. This ‘Hobgoblin’ took aim as she started to run at it, firing at the same time she raised her weapon. The shot hit her shoulder and she stumbled back.

“Guardian!”

She heard Ghost, but didn’t reply, only gritting her teeth and making a run for the Vex. She caught up to it before it could fire again and swung her fist at it’s head. She managed to disorient it before shooting it point blank.

“Hobgoblins? Seriously? What kind of name is that?” Lucy asked.

“A kind of Vex. They like to snipe at people.” Ghost explained. “The ones you saw before are Goblins.”

“Those have got to be the most ridiculous names I’ve ever heard.”

The Ghost made a sound that sounded like a chuckle, but her poking fun at the Vex names was short lived as she heard a static noise.

“Eyes up, Guardian; More Vex. And aim for the white glowy spots. It’s their weakness!”

Lucy nodded, reloading the auto-rifle before finding where the static noise was coming from; down on the ground floor and materializing near the statue again.

She raced down the steps and readied her weapon. Some more of the first kind of Vex she’d seen before appeared, the Goblins. She didn’t see any more Hobgoblins, but given they were a Vex sniper of sorts and Vex could apparently teleport, she had to keep her guard up.

“Come and get it.” She growled as they materialized fully.

She started firing on the next wave, and they quickly retaliated. The next minutes of the fight consisted mostly of Lucy running around and picking off the group of Vex one by one. Her Ghost was right about the white spots on the Vex; they seemed to be the weakest point. She kept aiming for that and kept her eyes out for any more Hobgoblins.

When she was down to two of the Goblins, she went to punch one of them that got too close and while she did hit it, the other one behind it had managed to land a shot on her, throwing her off balance and to the floor.

She also missed the noise of static from behind her as she struggled to get up onto her knees and shoot the other one.

The last one had fallen when her Ghost called out to her.

“Lucy, behind you!”

She quickly turned and saw a new Vex behind her; much taller than the other two kinds and more sturdy. She didn’t know when it had appeared, but it was way too close.

Just then a shot rang out and hit the Vex in the head, making it stumble back. There was a moment of silence and then more shots were fired onto the tall Vex. It quickly fell and Lucy looked behind her to see who it was that had shot the Vex.

Jumping down from the balcony were two other people; dressed in what looked like armor. Lucy got up, dusting off her clothes before greeting these strangers.

“You alright?” One asked. Their voice sounded male.

“I’m good, thanks.” She then gestured to the dead Vex behind her. “You took down that Vex?”

“The Minotaur? Yes, that was us. Might I ask who you are?”

“She’s a Guardian.” Her Ghost answered for her, appearing by her shoulder. “I resurrected her a few hours ago.”

“A Ghost...” The one who had spoken then took off his helmet, revealing a metal face. Another AI?

“Are… Are you an AI like Ghost?” Lucy couldn’t help but ask.

“In a way, yes.” The sides of his jaw lit up blue when he spoke; the same color as his eyes. “I was not made from the Traveler though. I am an Exo, a form of artificial intelligence supposedly created during the Golden Age. My name is Tyrell-3; Hunter. You, Guardian?”

She realized he was asking about her. “Ah- Lucy Carter. Human and Titan.”

“You’re of the Titan class then.”

“My Ghost seems to think so.”

“It’s likely right.” Then he gestured to the other next to him. “The quiet one here is Valis. He’s a Warlock.”

The one named Valis removed his own helmet, and Lucy was met with glowing eyes that seemed like stars. His skin was a faint blue and his hair was pastel pink.

“You-” She started, but Valis cut her off.

“I’m Awoken.” He simply answered. “My people were born in the Collapse; descended from Humans, or so the stories go. Most of the Awoken live out on the Reef, but… there are some, like myself, who were chosen to become Guardians.”

“You two are Guardians… What were you doing here on Venus?”

“Patrol mostly.”

“See; I told you.” Ghost said to Lucy.

“We were in the area and our Ghosts picked up some commotion coming from in the Academy.” Tyrell explained. “We came in just in time to see you take down those Vex. We noticed the Minotaur and took it out before it could get to you. I’m glad we came by; it’d be a shame to loose a newly risen Guardian.”

“Speaking of which,” Ghost interrupted. “We need a ride back to the City; my Guardian has questions and she needs to be orriented.”

“I agree.” A new voice chimed.

Two more Ghosts suddenly appeared at the shoulders of their respective Guardians, though they were a different color than her own Ghost.

“You two were finishing up patrol anyway, were you not?” The one at Valis’ shoulder spoke, looking at the Warlock.

“They’re right.” Tyrell agreed. “Come on, Guardian. We’ll take you back to Earth; to the City.”

“It’s Lucy.” She corrected him.

 

* * *

 

Later as they were flying back to Earth, Lucy asked her Ghost what they would do once they get to the City.

“We’ll go to the Tower.” The Ghost explained. “To start, you’ll see Commander Zavala as well as the Speaker. After that we can get you settled in and you’ll be able to start training, finding which subclass fits you and such.”

“Firstly, who are Commander Zavala and the Speaker?”

“Zavala is part of the Vanguard; he’s a Titan like you. As to the latter, the Speaker- hm, how do I describe him… He is the one who speaks for the Traveler.”

“The object you mentioned before.”

“The very same. The Speaker will be able to answer any of the questions that might be on your mind.”

Lucy leaned back in the pilot seat. The ship wasn’t really hers; it belonged to Valis. The Warlock had offered to let her borrow it and he’d fly back with Tryell. Lucy was letting her Ghost handle the controls though, as Lucy didn’t know how to really fly it.

“So in addition to the three classes you mentioned, there are subclasses to each.” Lucy reiterated. “What are the subclasses for a Titan?”

“Striker, Sunbreaker, and Defender. You’ll find out which one is suited for you in time.”

“Hm… and you? What do you do?”

“I am your companion and guide. There’s a lot more I can do besides that; hacking, opening doors, information gathering, healing, reviving if need be-”

“Wait, revive?” Lucy suddenly interjected. “You- are you saying you can resurrect me multiple times? It wasn’t just that one time?”

“If I need to.” Ghost confirmed. “So long as I can feel the Light and so long as I am with you, should you get killed I can bring you back. There are, of course, exceptions, such as… as… in the case that I myself am killed. Without me you wouldn’t be able to come back.”

Lucy thinks back to when they were fighting the Vex and Ghost had hidden when it had detected the Vex. It said it had demateralized to stay safe, so it wouldn’t be hurt.

“That’s why you hid. Enemies can’t get to you that way.”

“No; it’s safer for me to stay hidden in combat. In that sense I do become what old Human concepts of a Ghost were.”

“Good strategy.” Lucy commented. “Hey, do you mind if I give you a name? I don’t know if ‘Ghost’ really sticks.”

“I wouldn’t mind. It’s common for Guardians to give their Ghost a name.”

She smiled at the Ghost. “Then I’ll think of one for you.”

 

* * *

 

“And here is the City.” Ghost announced as they broke through the clouds.

Indeed it was a city that greeted her eyes, but Lucy’s attention was taken by a giant white floating object that seemed to reside in the very center of the City.

“A-And that?” She asked, pointing toward the object.

“That is the Traveler.”

“That?!” Lucy exclaimed. “That’s the mysterious object?!”

“You thought it was much smaller, didn’t you?”

Lucy gave a huff. “Maybe.”

The Ghost made that chuckling noise again. “We’re coming up on the Tower now; this is our home.”

‘ _Home.’_ The word echoed in Lucy’s mind. She was now a Guardian, and this was her home- this City, this Tower, protected under the Traveler.

And yet her gaze was still drawn to the Traveler, still and majestic.

‘ _Home.’_


End file.
